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Marksmanship is the Ranged DPS specialization of the Hunter in WoW: Forever. This page summarizes its talent tree as it appears in the game client (build 1.60.1.70753); the role is the one stated by the Icy Veins guide for the specialization.
In our level-60 simulation (180 seconds on a stationary boss, raid buffs, best known gear), Marksmanship Hunter ranks #13 of 20 DPS specs with 665 DPS. #1 is Affliction Warlock (907 DPS). A stationary boss does not tell everything: group utility and moving fights matter too.
Our simulator's build uses 51 points, split Beast Mastery 11 / Marksmanship 40. The talents that weigh the most in the simulation: Lone Wolf, Careful Aim, Deadly Aspects. Open this build in the talent calculator →
Without raid items, the best set the simulator finds gives 665 DPS, +0.0% against the set that includes raid items. Stat priority: Ranged Weapon Damage > Hit Chance > Intellect. Full gear and enchantments →
Opening: Hunter's Mark on the target before the fight (+110 ranged attack power) ; Auto Shot continuously ; Arcane Shot on cooldown. Full rotation →
The top race in our simulation: Night Elf. All races of the class →
The first talent point comes at level 10, then one per level up to 51 at level 60. The guide gives the talent order step by step (derived from the level-60 build, not tested while leveling), the dungeons of each level band and the spec's best item in each. See the leveling →
Our dungeon finder shows, for every dungeon, the best item for this spec according to the simulator's stat weights. Best dungeon items →
Our level-60 simulator build (51 points), the one used for the ranking: talents, gear and rotation are on the ranking page.
Gear, rotation and damage by ability for this level-60 build: Hunter Marksmanship →
The class's three trees, with the talents of the level-60 build (51 points) in colour and all the others in grey. The small number on the left of each row is the points you must have spent in the tree to reach it, and each talent's badge shows the points invested. This section is fixed: it does not move and does not depend on the calculator.
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Rank 5/5: Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks by 5%.
Rank 3/3: Increases the damage of your Serpent Sting ability by 20%, reduces the cooldown of your Viper Sting ability by -6 sec, and increases the duration of your Scorpid Sting ability by 45 sec.
Rank 5/5: Reduces the Mana cost of your Shots, Stings, and melee abilities by 15%.
Rank 5/5: Increases your Attack Power by 100% of your Intellect.
Rank 2/2: Reduces the cooldown on your Rapid Fire ability by -2 min. In addition, when you kill a non-trivial enemy or it dies while afflicted by your Serpent Sting, you gain Rapid Killing, increasing the damage of your next Shot ability within 20 sec by 20%.
Rank 5/5: Reduces the cooldown of your Arcane Shot by 1.5 sec. Does not affect the cooldown of abilities which share a cooldown with Arcane Shot.
Rank 1/1: You deal 20% increased damage with all attacks while you do not have an active pet.
Rank 1/1: Increases the Ranged Attack Power of party or raid members within 45 yds by 15.
Rank 5/5: Increases the critical strike damage bonus on all ranged abilities by 30%.
Rank 3/3: Increases the damage done by your Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot, and Volley abilities by 15%.
Rank 5/5: Increases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by 5%.
Rank 5/5: While Aspect of the Hawk is active, Auto Shot has a 10% chance of increasing ranged attack speed by 30% for 12 sec. While Aspect of the Beast is active, all melee auto attacks have a 10% chance of increasing melee attack speed by 30% for 12 sec.
Rank 5/5: Increases the Health and Armor of your pets by 15%.
Rank 1/2: Increases all damage you and your pet deal by 1% while your pet is active.
The ranking keeps the build that does the most DPS (665.0 DPS). Here is the same specialization with Sniper Shot, on the same gear and the same 180-second simulation: 641.9 DPS, −23.1 DPS (−3.5%) compared with the ranked build.
355/53/35/55/52/25/51/11/15/523/315/51/15/55/523221525121251555253231251222151| Talent | Tier | Measured value |
|---|---|---|
| Lone Wolf 1/1 MarksmanshipYou deal 20% increased damage with all attacks while you do not have an active pet. | 3 | −106.8 DPS without it (16.6%) |
| Careful Aim 5/5 MarksmanshipIncreases your Attack Power by 100% of your Intellect. | 2 | −37.4 DPS without it (5.8%) |
| Efficiency 5/5 MarksmanshipReduces the Mana cost of your Shots, Stings, and melee abilities by 15%. | 2 | −35.0 DPS without it (5.4%) |
| Lethal Attacks 5/5 MarksmanshipIncreases your critical strike chance with all attacks by 5%. | 1 | −33.7 DPS without it (5.2%) |
| Deadly Aspects 5/5 Beast MasteryWhile Aspect of the Hawk is active, Auto Shot has a 10% chance of increasing ranged attack speed by 30% for 12 sec. While Aspect of the Beast is active, all melee auto attacks have a 10% chance of increasing melee attack speed by 30% for 12 sec. | 1 | −32.0 DPS without it (5.0%) |
| Ranged Weapon Specialization 5/5 MarksmanshipIncreases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by 5%. | 6 | −30.5 DPS without it (4.8%) |
| Mortal Shots 5/5 MarksmanshipIncreases the critical strike damage bonus on all ranged abilities by 30%. | 4 | −28.3 DPS without it (4.4%) |
| Improved Stings 3/3 MarksmanshipIncreases the damage of your Serpent Sting ability by 20%, reduces the cooldown of your Viper Sting ability by -6 sec, and increases the duration of your Scorpid Sting ability by 45 sec. | 2 | −15.9 DPS without it (2.5%) |
| Improved Arcane Shot 5/5 MarksmanshipReduces the cooldown of your Arcane Shot by 1.5 sec. Does not affect the cooldown of abilities which share a cooldown with Arcane Shot. | 3 | −10.3 DPS without it (1.6%) |
| Barrage 3/3 MarksmanshipIncreases the damage done by your Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot, and Volley abilities by 15%. | 5 | −8.2 DPS without it (1.3%) |
| Rapid Killing 2/2 MarksmanshipReduces the cooldown on your Rapid Fire ability by -2 min. In addition, when you kill a non-trivial enemy or it dies while afflicted by your Serpent Sting, you gain Rapid Killing, increasing the damage of your next Shot ability within 20 sec by 20%. | 3 | negligible measured effect |
| Endurance Training 5/5 Beast MasteryIncreases the Health and Armor of your pets by 15%. | 1 | no simulated effect |
| Trueshot Aura 1/1 MarksmanshipIncreases the Ranged Attack Power of party or raid members within 45 yds by 15. | 4 | no simulated effect |
| Sniper Shot 1/1 MarksmanshipA long-range shot that deals ranged damage plus 160 and increases the range of your next 3 Shots by 10 yards for 10 sec. | 7 | negligible measured effect |
| Ability | DPS | Casts / min |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Shot | 283.5 | — |
| Arcane Shot | 142.7 | 10.4 |
| Serpent Sting | 95.3 | 3.4 |
| Multi-Shot | 62.6 | 4.2 |
| Sniper Shot | 55.9 | 2.5 |
The first talent point comes at level 10, then one per level: 1 point at level 10, 11 at level 20, 21 at level 30, 31 at level 40, 41 at level 50 and 51 at level 60. A row of a tree opens for every 5 points spent in that tree.
Derived order: we computed it from our simulator's level-60 build, following the tree rules (rows, prerequisites) and taking at each point the talent the simulation values most. It was not tested while leveling a character: it is a starting point, not a proven leveling build, to be revisited with the released game's data.
Levels 1 to 9: no talent point yet, the first one comes at level 10.
Take: Deadly Aspects. See the tree at this step →
Take: Deadly Aspects ×4, Lethal Attacks ×5, Careful Aim. See the tree at this step →
Take: Careful Aim ×4, Lone Wolf, Efficiency ×5. See the tree at this step →
Take: Improved Stings ×3, Mortal Shots ×5, Barrage, Ranged Weapon Specialization. See the tree at this step →
Take: Ranged Weapon Specialization ×4, Barrage ×2, Improved Arcane Shot ×4. See the tree at this step →
Take: Improved Arcane Shot, Endurance Training ×5, Focused Fire, Rapid Killing ×2, Trueshot Aura. See the tree at this step →
51 points: Beast Mastery 11 / Marksmanship 40
The talents that weigh the most in the simulation: Lone Wolf, Careful Aim, Deadly Aspects.
See the full tree →The best set the simulator finds among the known dungeon and profession items, raid excluded: 665 DPS, +0.0% against the set that includes raid items (665 DPS).
Full gear, enchantments included →
Figures come from our simulator, not from players: they move with patches.
| Stat | DPS gained | Relative value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hit per rating point | 0.669 | 3.12 | |
| Intellect per point | 0.623 | 2.91 | |
| Agility per point | 0.618 | 2.89 | |
| Crit per rating point | 0.503 | 2.35 | |
| Haste per rating point | 0.323 | 1.51 | |
| Attack power per point | 0.214 | 1.0 | |
| Spirit per point | 0.074 | 0.35 | |
| Strength per point | 0.0 | no effect |
Measured by the simulator on the character above: the DPS gained by one more point of each stat, with the same random draws on both sides. The relative value compares each stat with one point of attack power. Crit, hit and haste are counted per rating point, like Strength or Agility, so they compare directly; they respect the caps: hit at the cap adds nothing. A value near zero or negative is within the margin of error or tied to a limit (mana, cap).
DPS gained when points of each stat are added on top of the simulated gear. Click a stat (or its row in the table) to bring its curve forward; the ring marks the estimated cap, past which every point is worth less than 20% of what it gave at the start.
Our simulator's priority at level 60, set against what Icy Veins recommends. Their guides are written before launch, for level 30 and for leveling: we keep what everyone agrees on, adopt what the simulation confirmed at level 60 and say where the two differ.
Agreed, and added: Hunter's Mark (+110 ranged attack power, client value), Serpent Sting, Arcane Shot. Different: at level 60 on one target Multi-Shot does about 4% better than Aimed Shot (2-second cast) in the simulator, and Sniper Shot (a 4-second cast that stops Auto Shot) costs about 4%: the build does not take it.
Skinning
Leatherworking guide The gear our optimizer picks for this specialization among the items known so far (dungeons, the few raid items already known and crafted gear, which can be bought or made for you: prices and materials are not taken into account), with item effects simulated. Nothing is hand-picked: it is the result of the ranking's computation, and it will change as new items are discovered.
Enchantments up to skill 300, valued by the simulator when they give flat stats or flat weapon damage. The character does not need the profession: they can be bought or applied by an enchanter; Leatherworking armor kits (chest, legs, feet, hands) and Engineering scopes are counted too. A kit and an enchantment share the same permanent slot: a piece carries one or the other, and the legs, which have no enchantment, get the kit; spell-proc enchants (Crusader, Fiery Weapon...) and school damage are not simulated. The client data has no ring enchantment up to skill 300.
Icy Veins guide dated 2026-11-03, read on September 21, 2026.
The three best of each category, measured by the simulator on the character above. Only one scroll and one elixir or flask can be worn at a time: each gain is the DPS this consumable brings alone, compared with an empty slot, the rest of the set unchanged. Gains in the same category therefore do not add up. The row marked with a dot is the one in the simulated set.
These are the deepest talents in the tree: they require 30 points already spent in the specialization. Official game text, at maximum rank.
A long-range shot that deals ranged damage plus 160 and increases the range of your next 3 Shots by 10 yards for 10 sec.
Open Hunter in the talent calculator
Spend your 51 points, compare the three specializations and share your build by link.
Talent data comes from the game client. The level-60 build, gear, stats and rotation come from our simulator and are validated by DPS measurements; the rotation is compared with the Icy Veins guides, written before launch for level 30. Healing is not simulated. This data will change with future patches.
